A drilling rig platform is a machine configured to drill (create) a bore hole in the ground. The drilling rig platform houses equipment used to drill water wells, oil wells and/or natural gas extraction wells. The drilling rig platform may be deployed on a mobile platform or in a permanent land or marine-based structure (offshore oil rigs).
A mud pump circulates a drilling mud (slurry) through a drill bit and along a casing system. The casing system is also called a casing annulus or a pipe. The casing system is used for supporting the shape of the bore hole, and for cooling and removing the cuttings while drilling the well (bore hole). Hoists in the rig can lift hundreds of tons of pipe. The casing system is an outer (hollow) piping structure. The casing system is inserted into the bore hole (drilled by the drilling platform). The casing system holds back soil materials and stabilizes the bore hole.
By using a float collar on the top of a shoe joint and a guide or float shoe on the bottom, trapped internal pressure may occur in the casing system. The shoe joint is also called a casing joint and is a part of the casing system. Once the drill is activated, the fluid pump adds more internal pressure to the casing system. Once plugged, trapped internal casing pressure increases in the casing system. Removal of the unwanted plug from the casing system may be accomplished with finesse (operator skill and luck). Sometimes finessing the solution leads to more internal pressure trapped in the casing system. For instance, the internal pressure may reach up to 1,500 pounds per square inch (PSI) or higher. It is a dangerous task to relieve internal pressure from the casing system. This task endangers workers, wrecks equipment and creates unwanted environmental spillage.